Web Desk (LTN NEWS): On Friday, retired Lt Gen Sajjad Ghani started his new job as chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).
Thursday, the government sent out a notice about his new job. Mr. Ghani is the 23rd chairman of Wapda. He has worked as both a civil engineer and a soldier for the past forty years.
In 1984, he got his Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Military College of Engineering. In 1990, he got his Master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore.
Gen Ghani was Commander of the Corps of Engineers and Quartermaster General, and he was in charge of a lot of big building projects. He was a member of the Engineers Corps and joined the army in 1978. During operations in Swat, he was in charge of the Infantry Brigade and the Infantry Division. He was also Vice Chief of General Staff at the GHQ and commander of the Karachi Corps.
Gen Ghani has been named chairman of the Wapda by the government for a period of five years. Since May 7, this year, the job has been empty because Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain quit for “personal reasons” and then retired. He had been chairman of Wapda for more than five years.
After Gen Hussain quit, the government gave the job to Wapda member (finance) Naveed Asghar until a new chairman was chosen.
Gen Hussain took over as head of the Wapda on August 24, 2016, when Zafar Mahmood was replaced by the prime minister at the time, Nawaz Sharif. Gen Hussain’s contract ended on August 24 of last year, but the government led by the PTI gave him another five-year term.
In his resignation letter to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the outgoing Wapda chairman said that he couldn’t continue as chairman because of personal and family reasons. He also asked the government to accept his resignation, which it did.
Zafar Mahmood, who used to be chairman of Wapda, also quit his job, citing “personal reasons.”
